Case Studies

The Adolescent Education program is a self-management program targeting young people with type 1 diabetes. Through structured outdoor physical activity, participants are encouraged to use parks and natural spaces as resources for managing their illness, while forming supportive relationships with their peers. The program consists of weekly physical activity sessions in parks coordinated by exercise physiologists, combined with health literacy sessions with diabetes educators.

Heart Foundation Walking is Australia’s largest free walking network. It is part of the broader Heart Foundation Healthy Hearts agenda to encourage and support walking and physical activity. This includes focusing on, advocating for and enhancing supportive environments for active living as well as a marketing and communications component aimed at raising the profile of walking as a fun, free and accessible physical activity for everyone.

Connecting people with nature can assist in mental health treatment and recovery The Green Rehabilitation program supports mental health service providers to embed parks and other outdoor spaces as resources for program delivery. Health service providers are encouraged to incorporate the use of parks in their service planning and delivery through building relationships with local outdoor activity providers and park agencies.

The New Migrants program aims to introduce newly arrived migrants and refugees to the parks and outdoor spaces of Australia, supporting their community connectedness and social and emotional wellbeing through connection to nature and community.

The Youth Ambassadors program is a park-based program for secondary students at risk of developing mental illness or disengaging from the education system. It aims to build confidence and resilience in youth through undertaking leadership activities while connecting with nature. Participants graduate as ‘park ambassadors’ to spread Healthy Parks Healthy People messages amongst their peers and communities.